Independent animator Dave Redl has won my heart. He has created a mini-franchise with his show called Family Pants. Even though this show is not exactly "new" - it's new to me, right now, and might be new to you! Dave is the director, creator and animator for Family Pants. He does all the voice over for his main character - Frank Mueller. Even Dave wife's does the voice of Alexandrea. I think this stuff is so entertaining and way better than most of the crap on TV today, but that is just me.
What I love about Family Pants is the creator pulls from his own life experiences. Great story and characters are all about real life. He talks on his blog under the making of how he uses his home life, childhood, his brother, his ethnic background....just everything. This is why you empathize with the characters. It also adds attention to detail and little nuances that make the whole scene more believable. I love how he has one thing in each set that he really built the whole design around like...a fire hazard in the kitchen where paper towels are hanging right above the toaster!
He also has a whole breakdown of behind the scenes and how Family Pants is made using flash...for you indie animators chomping at the bit to make one of your own!Another thing I like about Dave as an artist is his support and interest in independent animation. Animators are all wondering about the future of the field, now that computers have basically sanded down the craft of animation and eliminated the pencil and drawing from the production. Working animators who have crossed over into CG are also wondering about overseas studios being established and if there will be jobs for us in the next 10 years. I hear people talking about these things everyday.
The thing is...in ANY industry that make a lot of cash and can be streamlined by mass production and globalization - its gonna happen, no doubt. So where is it "at "for the animator? IT IS the creative side of things.
sketch by Dave Redl
Creating the content!
Dave has a great entry in his blog called Can You Make a Living with Independent Internet Animation? that talks about how the Internet can open doors for the independent animator. Much like the Internet and sites like myspace have changed the whole music scene, so anyone who makes music can sell it without a distributor and get it to the masses. So the question is, can this business model be applied to animation? Can independent animators reach the masses and make money?
Sites like Family Pants and Home Starrunner have been successful in creating a product that has an audience that returns every week to see what is next. And then an audience that even buys stuff!
This is "key" to a successful web presence and to selling any product whether its DVDs, t-shirts or even toys like Dr. Steel is doing! So, could this be a new avenue for animators to forge ahead? Only time will tell...but I have one more thing to share before I click off this rant about independent animation on the internet...
My buddy Shawn McInerny has seen into the future and has created a new website called Toon Break. This site is designed to promote and show animations of both 2D and CG styles for free!!! to the viewers while still offering a way for the animation creators to make money. Targeted traffic is how he does it. If someone clicks on your animation posted in his archives at Toon Break the revenue sharing is already set up and the animator immediately benefits from it sort of like Google Ads on a blog work. No web rings or banner postings are necessary. Other than posting your animation on his server, there is nothing else for the animator/creator/director to do to get thing started.
Also, since Shawn has worked as an animator for years he has a discerning eye and only the best animations submitted make the grade at Toon Break. Think of it like a "high-end" version of Youtube.com concentrated in animation.
More info on Toon Break is here:
ToonBreak - A Cartoon Video Site that Shares Revenue
ToonBreak (http://www.toonbreak.com) is a new cartoon video site that shares revenue with animators. The brainchild of independent animator Shawn McInerney, ToonBreak is provides multiple tools for animators to generate revenue. Animators earn through merchandising, video ads, text ads, banner ads, and donations. ToonBreak's deal is non-exclusive, and does not seek rights beyond those needed to show and generate revenue from the videos. Since ToonBreak is dedicated to legally uploaded cartoons, animators' creations do not compete with other genres or copyright infringing clips from movies and TV.
"I created ToonBreak to provide what I have been looking for as an animator – an opportunity to put my cartoons in front of cartoon fans, maintain my copyrights, and generate income through as many streams as possible," says McInerney.
So, in summary...check out these links yo! ~Angie
Sites like Family Pants and Home Starrunner have been successful in creating a product that has an audience that returns every week to see what is next. And then an audience that even buys stuff!
This is "key" to a successful web presence and to selling any product whether its DVDs, t-shirts or even toys like Dr. Steel is doing! So, could this be a new avenue for animators to forge ahead? Only time will tell...but I have one more thing to share before I click off this rant about independent animation on the internet...
My buddy Shawn McInerny has seen into the future and has created a new website called Toon Break. This site is designed to promote and show animations of both 2D and CG styles for free!!! to the viewers while still offering a way for the animation creators to make money. Targeted traffic is how he does it. If someone clicks on your animation posted in his archives at Toon Break the revenue sharing is already set up and the animator immediately benefits from it sort of like Google Ads on a blog work. No web rings or banner postings are necessary. Other than posting your animation on his server, there is nothing else for the animator/creator/director to do to get thing started.
Also, since Shawn has worked as an animator for years he has a discerning eye and only the best animations submitted make the grade at Toon Break. Think of it like a "high-end" version of Youtube.com concentrated in animation.
More info on Toon Break is here:
ToonBreak - A Cartoon Video Site that Shares Revenue
ToonBreak (http://www.toonbreak.com) is a new cartoon video site that shares revenue with animators. The brainchild of independent animator Shawn McInerney, ToonBreak is provides multiple tools for animators to generate revenue. Animators earn through merchandising, video ads, text ads, banner ads, and donations. ToonBreak's deal is non-exclusive, and does not seek rights beyond those needed to show and generate revenue from the videos. Since ToonBreak is dedicated to legally uploaded cartoons, animators' creations do not compete with other genres or copyright infringing clips from movies and TV.
"I created ToonBreak to provide what I have been looking for as an animator – an opportunity to put my cartoons in front of cartoon fans, maintain my copyrights, and generate income through as many streams as possible," says McInerney.
So, in summary...check out these links yo! ~Angie